Bajaj Finance hits new high post Q1 results; stock rebounds 7%

Bajaj Finance hit new high of Rs 2,536, up 2%, bouncing back 7.4% from intra-day low on the BSE.

The stock dipped 5% to Rs 2,360 on the BSE in noon deal trade on profit booking after the company reported a consolidated net profit of Rs 8.36 billion for the quarter ended June 2018 (Q1FY19). It had a profit of Rs 4.61 billion in the same quarter year ago.

Net interest income (NII) during the quarter review increased 46% at Rs 25.78 billion against Rs 17.61 billion over the previous year quarter.

Analyst on an average had expected a profit of Rs 8.57 billion and NII of Rs 27.58 billion for the quarter.

The assets quality of the bank improved sequentially as well as on yearly basis during the quarter. On a sequential basis, the lender's gross non-performing assets (NPA), as a percentage of all its advances, stood at 1.39% in June quarter against 1.48% in March quarter. Net NPA stood at 0.44% against 0.38% in the previous quarter. Gross NPA and net NPA were at 1.67% and 0.53% respectively, year-ago quarter.

Assets under Management (AUM) as of 30 June 2018 grew by 35% to around Rs 933.14 billion from Rs 689.45 billion as of 30 June 2017, Bajaj Finance said in a press release.

Unlike Q1FY18, Q1FY19 did not have any major one-time expenses to the tune of Rs 250-300 million. Adjusted for it Opex to NIM for Q1FY18 would have been 40.4%, aided by stronger fee momentum and better cost management, it added.

The stock of Bajaj Finance had a strong run-up in past four months, outperformed the market by gaining 52% as compared to 10.5% rise in the S&P BSE Sensex till Wednesday. It touched an all-time high of Rs 2,522 in intra-day trade yesterday.